Search Engine Optimization Philippines

by Joel Mangilit
Philippine Internet Consultant

KEY to a successful web site is the ability to attract visitors from popular search sites such as Google.com and Yahoo.com.

   However, it is very difficult to get traffic from these sites. For example, if you are a visitor, and you are looking for a web design book in the Philippines, you might search using the keywords

web design book philippines

   If you do this, google.com would return about 105,000 possible web sites or pages that match your query. WOW, that is a lot of pages. As a visitor you would probably only take a look at the first 10 or 20 sites returned.

   Therefore, if your web site is not designed to be search engine friendly... you target visitors will not find you. A beautiful business web site with no visitors is a failure.

   By the way... this web site... Philippines Web Tutorial... ranked number 1 for the keywords above (beating 104,999 other web sites). Below is a screenshot taken on January 17, 2003 as proof.

    Let us try another one. For example you are looking for a course in web design in the Philippines. You might type in the following keywords

web design course philippines

   When I did this on January 17, 2003, Google returned 84,900 potential sites. WOW again. Since I offer a web design course via email... I have to compete against 84,900 other sites or web pages. The odds are not good, but let us see how my site does...

   I am a lucky person... my Web site ranked number 1 again! I am beginning to enjoy this.

   Please note that the first site... elance.com, is a paid listing. That means they paid Google to get a top ranking. I did not pay for my ranking... so traffic I get from visitors searching via Google or other search engines is virtually free traffic or free advertising.

   What I just mentioned is the key to a successful web site. If you are a business, pay attention to putting up a web site that can get free traffic from google and yahoo. 

Should I Use Fancy Graphics, Animations, Etc. ?

   NO. NO. NO.  Java, graphics, animations, flash will not help your site get a high ranking in search engines. In fact, using these technologies may hinder your rankings.

   Plus... these technologies slow down your web site... making your visitors wait... which cannot be a good thing.

   Just take a look at this site... minimal graphics... but ranks high in Google. And to a small entrepreneur such as myself... the visitors generated by google is the lifeblood of my website. I will not make money from having a fancy site that does not attract any visitors.

How Do I Design My Web Site to Rank High in Google and Yahoo?

   There are a few things you can do, the best is to put up a relevant web site. A web site that is full of useful information or provides valuable service. So do your best in building a content rich, informative site.

   You can also try other things, such as search engine optimization (SEO). However, this is a tedious and difficult task best left to the professionals (ahem...)

                                                                                      Enjoy life!
                                                                                     
                                                                                      Joel Mangilit

P.S. I design web sites to attract free traffic from search engines. If you need my services, just contact me. 

  
    Joel Mangilit is a freelance Information Technology consultant focusing on helping small businesses with their Web strategy. He is also a professor at De La Salle University Graduate School of Business, author of "Secrets of Designing Web Sites," director of IT Standards Review Center, Inc., and owner of www.webphil.com. He may be reached at joel@webphil.com.